


Shades of Trust

by K_Hanna_Korossy



Category: Stargate SG-1
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-01-29
Updated: 2016-01-29
Packaged: 2018-05-17 00:50:20
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,854
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5847460
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/K_Hanna_Korossy/pseuds/K_Hanna_Korossy
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Tag to "Shades of Gray." Jack didn't want to keep this secret, and now he's paying for it anyway.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Shades of Trust

First published in _Through the Liquid Eye_ (2003)

 

Jack O’Neill strode down the corridors of the SGC, nodding to airmen as they went by. The summons from General Hammond wasn’t wholly unexpected; no one else had seemed to notice, but Jack knew his commanding officer pretty well and it was obvious something was bothering the man. Maybe this would finally mean an explanation.

Hammond’s office door had double the usual sentries posted, a man standing at attention on either side, and Jack’s eyebrows climbed at the sight. That was interesting. Perhaps base security was the problem gnawing at the general, or maybe he had some cause to fear for his safety? The airmen didn’t even glance at him as O’Neill walked up to the door and knocked. Clearly he was expected.

“Come in.”

Jack opened the door and stepped inside. And stopped. Hammond wasn’t alone. On his one side sat Thor, or at least the holographic image of the Asgaard, and on the other, Her Eminence of Tollania. Okay, so maybe it wasn’t base security, only high-level visitors.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t know we had company,” he said with wry politeness. With Thor, that was no surprise, but the Tollan usually arrived by the gate and he hadn’t heard of any incoming travellers. Not that the Tollan couldn’t usually do whatever they wanted, if they wanted.

“Colonel O’Neill,” Hammond nodded, “I believe you know our guests. Please have a seat.” He waved at the single chair opposite his desk.

Jack sat gingerly, pretty sure he wasn’t going to like what he would hear. Hammond’s unusual gravity--and was that hesitation?--confirmed as much. The visitors weren’t looking all that happy, either, though he had to admit, it was hard to tell with Thor.

Hammond began. “Colonel O’Neill. The Asgaard and the Tollan have both approached us separately to make us aware of a problem they’ve been having. It seems that...” He looked decidedly uncomfortable. “...certain property of theirs has been disappearing.”

Theft? Jack wondered, then decided that was too simple. In a universe as strange and diverse as they’d been discovering, “disappearing” could mean literally vanishing out of sight, phasing out of existence, or even turning into something completely different.

“We have a thief in the SGC.”

Or, maybe not. Jack sat up, frowning. “Sir, in the SGC? How is that possible?”

Hammond was beginning to look truly frustrated, and for the restrained person Jack knew the base commander to be, that said a lot. “We’re not sure, Colonel. That is why the Asgaard have specifically requested your help.”

Jack’s eyebrows climbed and he glanced at Thor. The alien only regarded him calmly, as he always did. “Me, sir? What--”

“We believe there is a rogue unit operating somehow inside the SGC. We would like you to infiltrate that unit.”

“And I’d do this...how?” Jack asked. He’d done infiltration missions before, but never among his own people, and he had a feeling he wasn’t going to like the details of this assignment.

Hammond glanced at his guests, a delay tactic that also wasn’t like him, and Jack felt the beginnings of a headache appear. “To all appearances, Colonel O’Neill, you’ll be going rogue. With the Tollans’ permission, you will steal a piece of their equipment, then resign from the SGC to avoid facing disciplinary action. I will be spreading the news about your ‘inappropriate attitude,’ and we’re assuming the people involved will make contact with you to recruit you.”

Grimacing, Jack sat up and waved a hand to slow things down. “Wait a minute. I’m supposed to _steal_ something, with the owners’ permission, then _resign?_ And what if whoever it is who’s supposed to come calling, doesn’t?” Was this all as farfetched as it seemed to him? Just wait until Daniel and Carter heard about it...

Hammond steepled his fingers, giving a glance to his guests, who remained damnably silent. Apparently they were there only as witnesses, leaving the show up to the general and O’Neill. “Then we’re in serious trouble, Colonel. The Tollan, Asgaard, and Nox have threatened to sever all ties with us if we don’t catch those responsible for the thefts.”

Jack’s jaw nearly dropped, and he cast a half-accusing glance at Her Eminence, who appeared unfazed by the look. “Just like that? You can’t be--”

“I am, Colonel. That’s how important it is that we make the show convincing.”

Jack sat back again to think that one over. Well, okay, he didn’t quite understand how a rogue team would operate, using the gate without anyone’s knowledge. But if they were stealing from advanced civilizations, not only were they putting ties with those races at risk, but also playing with fire. As Jack well knew from experience, sometimes those devices didn’t exactly do what they were expected to, usually with costly results. It made sense that they had to be stopped, and he was pretty sure he could pull it off. Might even be fun, playing rogue, getting to be insubordinate under orders. They’d have to coach Teal’c a little to make it convincing, but that wouldn’t be a problem. The Jaffa never said much, anyway.

“There’s one more thing, Jack.” Both his tone and his use of O’Neill’s first name was a switch to a more personal tone. “The only ones who will know about this assignment are in this room.”

There weren’t that many of them in the room. Three less than there should have been, in fact. Suddenly, Jack was getting a whole new picture, and it was one he didn’t like. “You mean SG-1 will not be informed? Sir,” he added with difficulty.

Hammond noted his disapproving tone, which was fine with Jack. The general hadn’t seen anything yet. “No, Colonel, this is strictly a need-to-know operation. For their responses to be genuine and convincing, they must be as fooled as the rest of the SGC as to your behavior.”

Except they wouldn’t be. They knew Jack O’Neill better than anyone else, including Sara. The person she’d married didn’t even exist anymore, and his team had been a part of that change. They would know he wasn’t acting like himself, wouldn’t believe it for more than a minute. But that minute could change a lot. He sat up straight, no loner fidgeting. “Sir, you know a military team doesn’t work without trust. If they don’t know what’s going on and find out later I set ‘em up--”

“It’s not you, Colonel. You’ll be acting under direct orders. SG-1 will understand that.”

Teal’c, probably. Carter, maybe, although there was no question she’d be hurt. But she was military and would, eventually, agree it was what he’d had to do. But Daniel? Non-military-never-see-anything-past-his-sense-of-right-and-wrong Daniel?

Yeah, right.

Jack fidgeted. “With all due respect, General, if I can be trusted to go rogue, why can’t my team be trusted to play along?”

“Because the more people who know, the more possibilities there are for something to go wrong, you know that, Colonel.” Hammond was getting impatient with him, Jack could see, but tamping it down out of sympathy for O’Neill’s reservations. So, the old man thought it might be a problem, too. Somehow, Jack didn’t find that too encouraging.

Still, he had to give it one more shot. “What about leadership of rank, sir? It’s not exactly setting a good example.”

All right, so that was his weakest argument and he couldn’t blame the general for giving him an exasperated look. “On the contrary, they’ll find out soon enough that you were, in fact, following orders, Colonel. I see no problem there.”

None except that he was being asked to betray his team, his friends, for the sake of a mission. Sure, when it would be over they would know for sure what they’d have been suspecting all along, that he’d been faking it, but Jack somehow doubted that would mean everything would go instantly back to normal. Betrayal and lack of trust left cracks behind, cracks that could be patched but would still be weaker than before.

“Jack...” Hammond’s voice softened, as if it were just the two of them in the room. “I’m not going to force you to accept this assignment. The Asgaard have specifically requested you because they trust you,” and Thor silently nodded once from next to him, “but I understand that what we’re asking isn’t standard military protocol. If you do not accept this assignment, you will not be disciplined in any way.”

“We’ll just lose our three best allies,” Jack finished the thought, giving their “guests” a caustic look that again seemed to make no impression. He’d have to work on his scowl, he thought idly, then frowned at himself for the inappropriate humor. There was nothing funny at all here.

“Yes,” Hammond nodded once, solemnly. So, Jack’s invitation wasn’t exactly take-it-or-leave-it. What a beautiful military Catch-22; either he disillusioned his teammates and the three people closest to him, or he would be responsible for a strategic loss to the SGC that neither they nor their planet could afford. And to think his toughest decision so far that morning had been to put sugar into his coffee or not.

Jack sighed, rubbing at his head. Definite headache, the kind Daniel usually gave him. Not that Daniel would probably speak to him again after this, but...

His hand dropped away and he looked up at the three expectant faces before him. “When do we start?” he asked wearily.

There were times he hated his job.

 

Sometimes, there was no satisfaction in an “I told you so.”

It had been two days since the end of his undercover mission, and things had changed, just as Jack O’Neill had dreaded they would. Hammond had made himself scarce during that time, oh so generously allowing Jack to deal with the fallout from his little “assignment.” To his credit, at least the general hadn’t sent them out on a mission, either, allowing them a little downtime. Time to heal the cracks that were refusing to be patched. He knew, as Jack did, that a fractured team was a liability that could get them killed out there.

Not that they’d lost trust in each other. Things had gone more or less back to normal after the revelation, with Teal’c heading off to do...whatever it was he usually did in his room, Carter disappearing into her lab to work on stuff that gave O’Neill a headache, and Daniel going to catalogue some more of his rocks. Whenever they met at chow times or when he’d gone to see them, there was always some teasing and friendly banter. To all appearances, everything was just peachy.

Jack knew better. Before, just being together was recharging, giving them a place they could let down their hair--figuratively speaking, of course, especially with Teal’c. But now, there was a tension under the surface humor, the effort to be what they were before, to make happen what had once come naturally. Instead of relaxing, it was exhausting. Jack never ended up staying with his teammates for long.

Not that he could really blame them. They had a right to be mad, he knew that. Or not even mad so much as uncomfortable. He couldn’t expect them not to have feelings just because they were military, to feel he hadn’t trusted them either professionally or personally. And Daniel wasn’t even military and had to be hurt from their conversation; the young archaeologist had shied away from saying it outright but it was pretty obvious. Their talk had probably been what had sold Maybourne on Jack’s recruitability, but Jack still found himself wishing he hadn’t invited Daniel in that day and then proceeded to trash their hard-earned friendship. _Great move, O’Neill._ A good military commander was supposed to be a student of human nature, and he’d just chucked that good sense out the window.

But he could still imagine what his people would be thinking now. They would wonder if it would happen again. If Jack did something out of character, their first thought would be whether that was really him or if he was acting under orders again. Oh, sure, they’d still follow him, trust him out in the field as a commander. But personally, as a friend and an honorable man? What good was a command if your people questioned your personal motives?

Unfortunately, there wasn’t a thing he could do about that. Either they’d forgive him, or the party was finally over, but nothing he could say now would change what had happened. And that was more depressing a thought than he’d ever expected.

“Thanks a lot, Thor,” Jack muttered to the hall at large as he strode down to the quarters level and his room there. Maybe sleep would let him forget he was no longer the part of SG-1 he’d always been.

 

George Hammond was sitting calmly at the end of the briefing room table as the three filed in, and he gave them a partial smile to indicate the tone of the meeting. Informal. Hence the fact only three-fourths of the team had been invited.

“General, you wanted to see us?” Carter spoke for them.

“Sit down, please, all of you,” Hammond indicated the table.

They did, confusion in Daniel’s face, polite curiosity in Carter’s, and Teal’c with his usual impassivity. All three had noticed their team leader’s absence, the general could tell, but no one was mentioning it. Fine; he wanted to do this his own way, anyway. Without preamble, he jumped in.

“I wanted to talk to the three of you in private because, quite frankly, I don’t think Colonel O’Neill would be too comfortable with what I wanted to say. However, anything that affects the function of my units is my concern, and I believe this is too important not to address.”

He was taking in their reactions, what they allowed for him to see. Suspicion in Daniel’s face--that was regrettable but not very surprising. Wariness in Carter’s, a little more unexpected. Teal’c was...well, being Teal’c. Hammond took a breath and continued.

“Let me first tell you that what I have to say is confidential and will not leave this room. Understood?”

A murmur of agreement all around, albeit confused. Hammond nodded with satisfaction.

“I wanted to talk to you about Colonel O’Neill’s recent assignment. You may not know this, but when I initially called in the colonel to brief him about the undercover mission, his first expectation was that the three of you would be in on the assignment as well. When he learned he was allowed to tell no one, Jack was on the brink of refusing the assignment.” He allowed the use of O’Neill’s first name on purpose, again an indication of his position. This would never work if SG-1 felt compelled, like Jack had been. “The reasons he gave were persuasive: he argued that you would be able to act your parts just as he was being asked to, and that you knew him too well to believe the charade, anyway.” A few squirms in his audience now, Hammond was glad to see. “The colonel was also concerned with the image of leadership, but most of all, he was troubled by the strain he would place on your trust in him as SG-1’s leader.” And as their friend, no doubt, but that was out of his purview and best left only implied.

Some definite reactions now. Carter was worrying her lip, Teal’c was outright frowning, and Daniel had lapsed into the kind of introspection that indicated he was seriously thinking about something. Which was a great deal of the time, but Hammond hoped maybe the young man would be chewing on the right things this time.

Carter finally opened her mouth. “Sir--”

“Let me finish, please, Major,” Hammond said patiently, waiting until she abated. “The only reason Colonel O’Neill finally agreed to the assignment was that the Asgaard would trust no one else to take his place, and without this mission, all ties would have been broken with the Tollan, the Asgaard, and the Nox. Knowing the colonel, you can see why he would have felt that left him no alternative.”

Daniel this time. “But Jack--”

“Doctor Jackson, please.” Hammond’s voice never rose, but it usually didn’t have to. Nonplussed, the archaeologist slouched back into his seat and all but glared at the general.

Hammond straightened slowly. “I just wanted to make sure the nature of this mission was clear to the three of you, primarily. I’m certain you realize how difficult this assignment was. It was not an order I gave lightly or that Colonel O’Neill accepted lightly. I have no doubt the colonel’s fears were unfounded, but it may take him a little time to accept that fact. That’s why I wanted to have this little conversation. I trust it’s been helpful?”

A rhetorical question, really, but he saw three quick nods and some troubled faces.

“Thank you, people,” he finished pleasantly. “Dismissed.”

SG-1 rose to their feet almost at once, looking more than ready to get out of there. Daniel paused again near the door, jaw working as if he wanted to say something, but then he hurried after Teal’c with the thought unspoken. The door shut behind them.

Very good. Hammond didn’t believe in interfering in the personal lives of his people, but this time the assignment he’d given had done just that, and so it was partly his responsibility to make things right again, wasn’t it? With Jack O’Neill’s stubborn stoicism when it came to his true feelings, Lord knew when he would have given his friends and teammates all the details. Probably never, knowing they would have difficulty believing it. Not to mention, one of the things Hammond most respected about Jack was his unwillingness to shuck responsibility off on others. No, this had been uniquely Hammond's place to do.

Besides, privately he, too, regretted what he’d asked of Jack, and had feared the same consequences the younger man had. It wasn’t something he wanted to be obvious about, but the general cared about his flagship team a great deal and didn’t want to see it come apart.

With a small smile, George Hammond picked up a report and began to read.

 

Nearly twenty-four hours later, SG-1 gathered in the gateroom, preparing to go on their next mission.

Carter, Jackson, and Teal’c were already there when Jack walked in. A quick survey showed him the team was fully garbed and ready to go, except for Daniel. Jack surpressed a sigh. Somehow the archaeologist always seemed to be the last one out the gate—no pun intended—now fiddling with his pack as he tried to adjust the straps. Carter, with a smile and a no-doubt teasing remark, leaned over to him to help. Jack almost winced. He would have been over there giving Daniel grief as well, once. Now, he was the outsider.

Well, it wasn’t like he wasn’t used to that role. Squaring his shoulders, Jack moved over to the wall beside the door and concentrated on his wadded boonie hat, whose buckle refused to let itself be adjusted. And if it had more of his attention than was warranted, so what? At least it gave him something to do besides stand there stupidly and feel left out.            

He was trying to ignore the other three, but Jack couldn’t help but see out of the corner of his eye that Carter had glanced his way and then said something softly to Daniel, even as she fixed his strap and gave his back a pat. Jackson also glanced around at O’Neill before turning back to Carter and Teal’c. A brief hesitation, then he lifted his chin higher and walked toward Jack.

Jack’s stomach lurched. Terrific. Here it came. Well, at least it would finally be out in the open. Jack had always been better at straight confrontation than pussyfooting around. He impatiently slapped his hat onto his head, drawing himself up straight as he watched Daniel approach, unconsciously falling into the posture of battle readiness.

But maybe not readiness for what happened. Stopping in front of O’Neill, Daniel paused, shifting from one foot to the other, and suddenly gave him a wry grin. “It looks worse than mine usually does,” he said quietly, reaching up and tugging Jack’s askew hat into place.

It took an effort not to flinch at Daniel’s motion. Jack had been prepared for an attack, verbal or physical, not…gentle sarcasm. “At least I remembered to bring it,” he shot back automatically, but it was weak. He was too confused to come up with something better.

Daniel didn’t seem to notice. His smile softened. “I brought all my gear this time—I think I’m getting better.” A meaningful look. “We’re ready to go when you are, Jack.” He gestured to Sam and Teal’c.

_Jack_. Recently, it had been the far more formal “Colonel,” or even “O’Neill,” the few times Daniel talked to him at all. What was going on here? Jack watched, wary, as Daniel enthusiastically headed back to their two other teammates, clearly expecting him to follow. He finally did, with lagging steps. He wasn’t quite ready to trust that this was what it seemed to be.

Sam leaned past Daniel to address him with a smile of her own. “Colonel, did you hear there’s a beach on this planet? And the MALP says it’s about 30 degrees Celsius.”

“We’re in America, Carter—we don’t do Celsius.” The words were coming out of his mouth despite him.

“Sorry, sir. About 86 degrees Fahrenheit.”

“Anybody bring their bathing suit?” Jack’s tone was light but he was studying their faces, trying to figure out what had changed because something certainly had.

“Bathing suit?” Teal’c inquired with one arching eyebrow.

Jack actually blanched at that, not quite ready for the image of the Jaffa in swimwear. Daniel must have had the same image, because the archaeologist coughed next to him. “Uh, I’ll explain when we get back, Teal’c.” He leaned conspiratorially toward Jack. “I think we just started something we’re gonna regret.”

“Oh, yeah.”

“Are we ready to go, sir?” Sam was looking at him expectantly. Hopefully. Daniel was, too. Even Teal’c had that certain tilt to his head.

Jack’s stiffness began to ease as realization sunk in. For whatever reason, he had been forgiven. Really. He didn’t understand it, but he’d never been one to look a gift horse in the mouth, either. Not one he’d wanted so badly.

Simple contentment, long absent, returned in a wave, filling him to the brim, and Jack gave his team—his friends—a half-grin. "Oh, yeah," he said even more fervently. Back to work, or rather, play, in the repaired world of Jack O’Neill.

A quick salute up to Hammond, who stood in the observation room looking unusually pleased, then Jack raised his chin and waved toward the gate. “Let’s move out, people.”

And Jack O’Neill turned and led his team up the ramp and through the portal, to the world waiting beyond.

The End


End file.
